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Peter Daou

Security Council To Discuss Lebanon Resolution

"Britain and the US say a deal is close to being reached on the resolution which would set the stage for an international force for south Lebanon. But France says there must be a halt to the clashes before UN forces can be sent in." Link

Annan Discusses Mideast Crisis with Council’s Permanent Members

"United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan met Tuesday with the five permanent members of the Security Council in informal talks focused on the crisis in the Middle East and how best to stop the bloodshed in a conflict that has killed hundreds of people and forced almost a million others to flee their homes across the region.

UNEP Backs Response to Lebanon’s Oil Slick Emergency

UNEP LEBANON.jpg "An oil slick, caused by the destruction of the Jiyyeh power utility 30km south of Beirut after being struck by Israeli bombs, is now reported to be affecting up to 80 km of the Lebanese coastline and threatening the Syrian one too. Achim Steiner, a UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP's Executive Director, said requests of assistance from the government of Lebanon were being responded to by the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Center for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC). REMPEC, administered by the UN International Maritime Organization and part UNEP's Regional Seas Network, is giving advice to the Lebanese Ministry of the Environment on how to tackle the heavy fuel oil slick."

Bush Looks to UN for Mideast Solution

"President Bush acknowledged growing international pressure for an immediate Middle East cease-fire Monday but dismissed any idea of simply "stopping for the sake of stopping" without a plan for lasting peace. Bush said the United States was working with allies for a United Nations Security Council resolution to get a "sustainable cease-fire, a cease-fire which will last" - but not necessarily anything immediate." [More]

UN Demands Iran Suspend Nuclear Activities

Washington Post: "The U.N. Security Council Monday adopted a resolution demanding that Iran suspend its nuclear activities by the end of August or face possible sanctions. The resolution, approved by a vote of 14-1, with Qatar opposing, is the first on Iran to set out legally binding demands and a threat to consider sanctions. The United States and its allies suspect Iran is developing nuclear bombs and accuse it of concealing research over 18 years."

UN Panel Takes U.S. to Task Over Katrina

"The United States must better protect poor people and African-Americans in natural disasters to avoid problems like those after Hurricane Katrina, a U.N. human rights panel said Friday.

UN Council Shocked, Distressed by Qana Attack

"The U.N. Security Council expressed "extreme shock and distress" on Sunday at Israel's attack on the southern Lebanese village of Qana in which more than 60 people were killed. The statement adopted unanimously by the 15-nation council "strongly deplores this loss of innocent lives" in Qana but did not call for an immediate truce, as requested by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan but opposed by the United States." [More]

UN Deaths ‘Threaten Peacekeeping’

BBC News: "The UN has warned the deaths of four of its personnel in southern Lebanon may deter countries from contributing to a future peacekeeping force in the area. UN deputy chief Mark Malloch-Brown said they accepted Israel's apology for the losses to Israeli fire, but still had "serious concerns" about what happened."